“If he wants,” he bit out.
Ash looked at me, hope shining in his eyes.
The thought of being part of a campaign and going to events to be shown off as the gay boyfriend made my stomach flip over and my anxiety spike, but I’d do it for Ash. If he wanted it, then I’d happily do it.
I nodded.
He gave me a wobbly smile and looked back down at the phone.
“And you’re not going to tell the kids that he’s a friend? You’ll accept him as my boyfriend at home and in public?”
“Yes.”
“Then we have a deal.”
“I’ll have my campaign manager contact you about your obligations. And you and Julian are both invited to spend Christmas break with us.”
“You’ll be home?”
“We’ll have a lot of events to attend, so yes, we’ll be home.”
“I’m guessing you’re expecting us to babysit while you go to these events?”
“You did say you wanted to spend more time with your siblings.”
Ash rolled his eyes. “And you’ll take the camera out of my room?”
“Yes.”
“And give me back access?”
A pause. “Yes.”
“Then we’ll talk soon.”
His dad ended the call without saying good-bye, and Ash tossed the phone on the bed.
“Baby?” I asked as his shoulders shook and he dropped his head in his hands.
“Holy fuck.” He raked his hands through his hair, then scrubbed them over his face. “Fuck.”
I sat quietly, letting him process and gather his thoughts.
“I-I don’t know if this is a win or not.” His eyes were red and wet, but his cheeks were dry. “He can’t just do something without it benefiting him. He can’t just be my dad. He needs me to bolster his image, andthenhe’ll be a dad. Sort of.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Maybe? I have no frigging idea.” He rolled his neck, cracking it, and let out a slow breath.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped—”
“You’re the reason he changed his mind. I was ready to hang up and accept that this was the end, but you fought for me.”
“Of course I did. And I always will. C’mere.”
I lay on the bed with Ash next to me, curled up at my side, his head on my chest.
I gently smoothed his hair back from his forehead.